Water-elevator.



JAMES M. STAFFORD, OF WASHINGTON, INDIANA.

WATER-ELEVATOR.

Application filed November 17, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES M. STAFFORD, a citizen of the United States,residing at W'ashington, in the county of Daviess, State of Indiana,have invented a new and useful ater-Elevator; and I do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to an improved construction of waterelevator, and has for its object to provide a device of this characterwhich embodies novel features of construct-ion whereby the partialvacuum will enable water to be raised at slight expense, and whichrequires but little attention on the part of the operator.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fullyappear as the description proceeds, the noval features thereof beingpointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is avertical sectional view through a water elevator constructed inaccordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary verticalsectional view through the water elevator, showing a modifiedconstruction for igniting the inside lamp.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the samereference characters.

Specifically describing the present embodiment of the invention, thenumeral 1 designates a closed chamber or tank which is arranged at asuitable elevation above the surface of the water in the well or streamfrom which the water is to be elevated. A water supply pipe 2- leadsfrom the source of supply to the bottom of the chamber 1, and adischarge pipe. 3 through which the water is conveyed to the reservoiror other recep- Specification of Letters Patent.

7 ing check valve at.

Patented Nov, F, 191

Serial No. 61,980.

tacle in which it is to be collected leads from the bottom of thechamber 1, said outlet pipe 3 being provided with an outwardly open- Anair inlet opening 5 is provided in the top of the chamber 1, saidopening being controlled by a valve (3 which has a stem 7 pendenttherefrom.

Arranged within the chamber 1 at a sin"- able point is a lamp 8, saidlamp being fitted against one of the side walls of the chamber with thewick or burner 8 thereof adjacent an opening 9 which is controlled by avalve 10. A. pilot light 11 is arranged upon the outside of the chamber1 with the wick or burner 11 thereof opposite the opening 9, so thatwhen the valve is opened, a few drops of gasolene or the like sprayedfrom the pipe 12 will cause the wick 8 to be lighted or ignited from theflame of the outside lamp 11. The spraying pipe 12 communicates at itsupper end with a small gasolene tank 13,

and a valve 14: controls the flow of gasolene from the tank through thespraying pipe.

A float 151s arranged w1th1n the chamber r l, and normally rests upon aseat 16 proectlng upwardly from the bottom of the chamber. Carried bythe float is a stem 17 which projects upwardly therefrom and passesloosely through suitable guides 18 which may be carried by the crossbars 19.

The air valve 6 and the side valve 10 are both closed when the lamp 8 isburning, the flame from the said lamp serving first to heat the airconfined within the chamber 1 so that it expands and a portion thereofis expelled through the outlet pipe 3, the check valve 4: opening forthis purpose, the inwardly opening check valve 2 at the upper end-of thewater supply pipe 2 being closed at this time. After the initialexpansion of the confined air by the heat of the flame the consumptionof oxygen incident to combustion will produce a partial vacuum in thechamber until the flame is ultimately extinguished. As the result ofthis partial vacuum water will flow upwardly into the chamber 1 throughthe water supply pipe 2, and the cooling of the previously heated air orgases confined within the chamber will cause a contraction thereof, saidcontraction causing a further quantity of water to flow upwardly intothe chamber 1. At this point the upper end of the valve stem 17 willcontact with a valve opening lever 20 and swing the same upwardly, oneend of the said lever being pivoted at 20 upon the walls of the chamber1, while the opposite end thereof will engage a lateral arm 7 upon thevalve stem 7 and lift the valve 6, thereby opening the air inlet 5. 20is arranged to limit the downward swinging movement of the lever 20.

Practically simultaneously with the opening of the valve 6, the bevelednose 21 of a trip finger 21 projecting laterally from the valve stem 17will engage a roller 50 on one of the arms of a bell crank lever 51which is pivotally mounted at 52 upon a bracket 53 projecting from oneside of the chamber 1, the opposite arm of the bell crank having a pinand slot connection 5% with an arm 22 projecting from the side valve 10and slidable through an opening in the bracket 53. A coil spring 55engages the bell crank lever 51 and normally swings the same to closethe valve 10, although when the said bell crank is actuated by the tripfinger 21 the valve 10 is moved into an open position. The nose of adetent 24: then engages a hook 56 on the bell crank 51 to hold the sameagainst the action of the spring 55 and lock the valve 10 in an openposition. In a similar manner, when the valve 6 is opened a detent 23swings under a head 7 at the lower end of the stem 7 to lock the valvein an open position. This detent 23 is pivotally mounted at anintermediate point in its length upon the upper cross bar 19, the lowerend thereof being provided with a laterally projecting arm 23 which hasa roller 28 at the end thereof, and is connected by a tension spring 57to the cross bar 19. As soon as the valves 6 and 10 are opened the waterwhich previously flowed into the chamber 1 through the water supply pipe2 will flow by gravity through the outlet pipe 3, the check valve 4:being open while the check valve 2 is closed. As the water flows out ofthe chamber 1 the float 15 drops, and before it reaches the lower limitof its movement a trip finger 25 thereon having a roller at theextremity thereof engages the beveled nose 26 of an arm 26 which isconnected to the gasolene .valve 14, thereby operating the said valveand causing a few drops of gasolene to be sprayed through the lower endof the gasolene p1pe 12. This causes the inside lamp 8 V to be ignitedfrom the outside lamp 11. A

spring 58 is connected to the valve arm 26 for normally holding'thevalve in a closed position, and the trip finger 25 is pivotally mountedat 25 upon the float stem 17, said trip finger being free to swingdownwardly against the action of a spring 59, while the upward swingingmovement thereofis limited by a stop 60. The upward swinging movement ofthe gasolene valve arm 26 is also limited by a stop 61, so that upon theupward movement of the float stem 17 the trip finger 25 will swingdownwardly and clear the valve arm 26, although upon the A stop downwardmovement of the float stem the trip finger will actuate the valve arm;

WVhen the float 15 reaches the full limit of its downward movement thebeveled nose 2" of another trip finger 27 thereon engages the roller 28upon the arm 23 of the detent 23 so as to swing the detent into inoperative position and permit the air valve 6 to drop into a closedposition by the action of gravity. At substantially the same time thebeveled nose 29 of still another trip fin ger 29 engages a roller 61 atthe end of an arm 30 projecting from the detent 24 so as to move thedetent into an inoperative position and permit the side valve 10 to beclosed. The valves 6 and 10 are thus closed, with the inside lamp 8burning, and the device is thus started upon another cycle of operationsimilar to that which has just been described.

At the beginning of a cycle of operation the parts are in the positionshown by Fig. 1, the valves 6 and 10 being closed, and the inside lamp 8being lighted. The burning of this lamp 8 will first heat the airconfined within the chamber land cause a portion thereof to be expelledthrough the outlet pipe 3. After this initial expansion of the confinedair, the consumption'of oxygen incident to combustion will produce apartial vacuum in the chamber, thereby causing water to be drawnupwardly into the bottom of the chamber through the inlet pipe 2. Thiswater will raise the float 15, together with the stem 17, until theupper end of the said stem engages the lever 20 and lifts the air inletvalve 6 into an open position. At the same time the air inlet valve 6 isopened,

the nose of the trip finger 21 engages the roller 50 at the end of thebell crank lever 51 and opens the side valve 10; The detent 23 thenlocks the air valve in an open position, while the detent 24c lockstheside valve 10 111 an open position. Upon this upward movement of thefloat stem 17, the pivoted trip arm 25 for the gasolene valve will haveswung downwardly and cleared the end of the gasolene valve lever 26, aspreviously explained. The water drawn intothe chamr her 1 by the partialvacuum produced therein will now be discharged through the outlet pipe 3by the action of gravity, and the products of combustion will escape toa sufficient extent through the openings con trolled by the valves 6 and10. These openings can be made of any suitable size, and the heatedproducts of combustion will tend to rise through the top opening as coolfresh air enters the chamber through the side opening. As the waterflows through the outlet pipe 3, the float 15 drops back to its originalposition. WVhile the side valve 10 is still open, the trip arm 25 willengage the gasolene valve arm 26 and temporarily open the gasolene valveso that a small quantity of gasolene will flow through the pipeposition, while the trip arm 29 will release the detent 24; and causethe side valve 10 to be closed by the action of the spring 55. Theburning of the inside lamp 8, with the valves 6 and 10 closed, will thenoperate as previously described to produce a partial vacuum within thechamber and draw a fresh supply of water upwardly through the inlet pipe2.

A slight modification is shown by Fig. 2, in which an electric spark isutilized for igniting the wick of the inside lamp 8. A suitable sparkingdevice, such as the spark plug 62 may be mounted in a suitable positionfor igniting the wick 8 the terminals of the spark plug being connectedto an or dinary sparking coil 63. A battery 64: may supply the current,one of the terminals thereof being connected to an insulated bracket 65having an inclined contact member 66 at the end thereof, said inclinedcontact member having an insulated lower end 66 and being adapted to beengaged by a roller 67 on an arm 68 which is pivotally mounted upon thefloat stem 17 and insulated therefrom. The other terminal of thesparking circuit is connected to this arm 68, and springs 69 normallyhold the arm in a substantially horizontal position, although it is freeto swing both up and down. When the float 15 rises, the roller 67engages the insulated nose 66 of the inclined contact member 66, andeventually slips by the same without closing the sparking circuit.However, upon the downward movement of the float 15 the roller 67engages the inclined contact plate 66 and closes the sparking circuit sothat the wick 8 of the lamp 8 is ignited.

The idea of the invention is to utilize combustion to intermittentlyproduce a partial vacuum within a closed chamber, the combustion firstheating the confined air and causing it to expand with the result that aportion thereof is expelled through a check valve, and a continuation ofthe combustion then using a portion of the oxygen of the confined air,with the result that a partial vacuum is produced, suflicient to drawwater upwardly into the confined chamber through the water supply pipe.The entrance of this water into the closed chamber cools the air andproduces a contraction thereof which results in drawing a still furtherquantity of water into the chamber. The water thus elevated into thechamber is then released and the inside lamp ignited preparatory to thenext cycle. Any suitable means may be pro vided for producing thecombustion within the chamber.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A water elevator, including a closed chamber, a water inlet, a wateroutlet, check valves controlling the water inlet and water outlet, anair valve, a detent for locking the air valve in an open position, afloat within the chamber, means actuated by the rising and falling ofthe float to alternately open the air valve and release the detent, andmeans for establishing combustion within the closed chamber when the airvalve is closed to produce a partial vacuum therein and cause water toenter the chamber through the inlet.

2. A water elevator, including a closed chamber, a water outlet, a waterinlet, check valves controlling the water inlet and water outlet, afloat within the chamber, top and side valves for the chamber, meansactuated by the rise and fall of the float for simultaneously openingand closing the two valves at intervals of time, and means for establishing combustion within the closed cham ber when the valves areclosed, thereby pro ducing a partial vacuum therein and causing water toenter the chamber through the inlet.

3. A water elevator, including a closed chamber, a water inlet, a wateroutlet, check valves controlling the water inlet and water outlet, afloat within the chamber, top and side valves for the chamber, meansactuated by the rise of the float for simultaneously opening the twovalves, detents for locking the valves in an open position, meansactuated by the float when it reaches the lower limit of its movementfor simultaneously releasing the detents, and means for establishingcombustion within the chamber when the valves are closed, therebyproducing a partial vacuum therein and causing water to enter thechamber through the inlet.

4. A water elevator, including a closed chamber, a water inlet, a wateroutlet, check valves controlling the water inlet and water outlet, afloat within the chamber, a stem projecting upwardly from the float,guide means for the stem, an air valve at the top of the chamber, asecond valve at one side of the chamber, trip actuated means controlledby the float for simultaneously opening the two valves when the floatreaches the upper limit of its movement, detents for locking the twovalves in an open position, trip means actuated by the float when itreaches the lower limit of its movement for simultaneously releasing thetwo detents, and means for establishing combustion within the throughthe water inlet.

5. A water elevator, including a closed chamber, a water inlet, a wateroutlet, check valves controlling the water inlet and water.

outlet, a float within the chamber, a burner within the chamber, an airvalve for the chamber, means actuated by the float for igniting theburner and closing the air valve when it reaches the lower limit of itsmovement, and means actuated by the float for automatically opening theair valve when it reaches the upper limit of its movement.

6. A water elevator, including a closed chamber, a water inlet, a wateroutlet, check valves for the water inlet and water outlet, a floatwithin the chamber, a burner within the chamber, an air valve for thechamber, means for opening the air valve when the float reaches theupper limit of its movement, a detent for holding the air valve in anopen position, means actuated by the tuated by the float for opening thefirst mentioned valve when it reaches the upper limit of itsmovement,detents for holding the two valves in open positions, means actuated bythe float for depositing a combustible between the outside burner andthe inside burner so that the inside burner will be ignited, and meansactuated by the float when it reaches the lower limit of its movement torelease the before mentioned detents and cause both valves to be closed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

7 JAMES M. STAFFORD.

Witnesess SAMUEL C. ESKRIDGE, LUOINDA HARROD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

